Lalit Chaturvedi & Others Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Another (Supreme Court of India)
Supreme Court Quashes FIR in Money Recovery Dispute, Holds Criminal Proceedings Abuse of Process
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal filed by Lalit Chaturvedi, Mukesh Sharma and Manoj Chaturvedi and set aside the judgment of the Allahabad High Court, which had dismissed their application under Section 482 Cr.P.C. on the ground of delay/laches. The Supreme Court quashed the FIR and all resultant proceedings, including the charge-sheet, while clarifying that it had not expressed any opinion on the complainant’s civil rights.
The proceedings originated from FIR No. 287/2019 registered on 30.08.2019 at Police Station Hapur Dehat, District Hapur, on the complaint of Sanjay Garg, proprietor of Garg Timber Products. The complainant stated that between 01.12.2015 and 06.08.2017, he supplied wood-waste fuel worth Rs.5,69,31,811/- to Asar Eco Power Limited and received Rs.3,76,40,553/- through RTGS, leaving Rs.1,92,91,358/- outstanding.
According to the complaint, despite repeated demands, the appellants did not pay the outstanding amount. The complainant alleged that the goods had been purchased dishonestly and fraudulently and that he had been threatened when he demanded payment. The FIR was initially registered for offences under Section 406 IPC and Section 506 IPC. Following investigation, Section 420 IPC was added.
